Mega Disinvestment: Government To Complete Sale Of Air India And Bharat Petroleum This Fiscal, Says FM Sitharaman

In a major announcement, Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday (16 November) that the Government would wrap up the sale of public-sector behemoths Air India and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) by March next year, reports The Times of India.

Giving an interview to The Times of India, Sitharaman also said that there is a "lot of interest" in the investor community about the sale of Air India as seen in the international roadshows carried out by the Government in this regard.

It should be noted that the Government of India had attempted to divest off Air India in the previous fiscal as well, but it had to eventually shelve the plan because of tepid response received from the investors.

The announcement from Sitharaman comes at a time when the Government is relying on proceeds from disinvestment of state owned assets and companies to meet the deficit in tax collections which is likely to arise after Sitharaman had announced historic corporate tax cuts in the recent past to revive the economy.

It should be noted that for the ongoing fiscal, Government has set a disinvestment target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore.